The Many Shades of Amanda Stetson Blind Trust
by WhiteFeather1965
Summary: A Scarecrow and Mrs King fanfiction. Amanda wants to spice up her sex life and show Lee who's really in charge at the same time. Marriage still a mystery. Rated M for realistic depictions of bondage. If this is objectionable to you, stop reading now.


Disclaimer: Scarecrow and Mrs. King is owned by Shoot the Moon Enterprises, Ltd. and Warner Brothers. For entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement intended. **WARNING: Do not try this if you have not been trained in tie down methods, safety and after care procedures**.

Summary: A Scarecrow and Mrs King fanfiction. Amanda wants to spice up her sex life and show Lee who's really in charge at the same time. Marriage still a mystery. Rated M for realistic depictions of bondage. If this is objectionable to you, stop reading now.

Author's Note: This story was inspired by a discussion about The Fifty Shades of Grey and the writer's lack of knowledge of the true nature of the inner workings of the BDSM lifestyle and the power exchanges that take place within a BDSM relationship. I'm here to set the record straight, since this story is drawn from my own experience as a Dominant/Sadist and the skills and equipment depicted are mine.

 **The** **Many** **Shades** **of** **Amanda** **Stetson**

Amanda had had it up to her eyeballs with the mystery marriage. She was sick to death of having a wonderful evening with Lee and then one or the other of them having to leave. It wasn't fair. It just wasn't. But then, they had both agreed to it and they knew going in that it wasn't going to be easy. Not that their sex life had suffered from being apart. That was just fine, thank you very much, but they were together so seldom. This time it had been almost a month and a half since they had been able to spend any real time together as a married couple and she was itchy as a dog at a flea circus. She was fairly certain that Lee was pretty itchy by now, too. She didn't care what she had to do, she was going to get that itch scratched... tonight.

They had been married a little over 6 months and being apart more often than together with the man she loved was wearing on both of their nerves and making seemingly irreparable inroads into their relationship.

Amanda groused inside her head about it every so often and today was no exception. _Hell,_ she thought. _If I wanted to sleep alone every night while I was married, I may as well have stayed married to Joe._

She and Lee had that conversation just yesterday and his indignant response had been to run his fingers through his hair and grumble, "Well at least I live only 15 minutes away, not halfway around the God damned world!"

As she prepared the Chateau Briand for the oven, Amanda shook her head and threw up her hands in frustration at the turn their marriage had taken. She sighed deeply, as she shoved the roaster into the oven none too gently and then began to cut up potatoes.

Whatever powers that be had smiled on her and Lee, since Dotty and the boys were off visiting Uncle Herman for the remainder of summer break. Amanda had made the excuse that she needed to stay home and work. Dotty had been dubious, but seemed to understand Amanda's need for some alone time with Lee.

Tonight she hoped would be special, since she had spent weeks in secret preparation. She had called Lee earlier in the day and told him that she had a surprise for him at her house, when he got off work and to bring wine.

Still and all, she didn't want to be known to Lee as a one trick pony. She still had a few tricks up her sleeve that she hadn't tried since her "explore it all and damn the consequences" college days. She still had a few skills that even Joe and her parents didn't know about.

God help her if her family ever found out that she had once had a penchant for black leather and whips and chains. Also that she had once belonged to a very exclusive dungeon sex club known as The Golden Cage in Charlottesville, where for 2 1/2 years on most Friday and Saturday nights, she had been known as Lady Jane. No one would believe it to see her now, but when she donned her Lady Jane mantle, she was the biggest bitch on the block and tough as a matron at a Russian women's prison (or so another "Lady" at the club had told her), which suited Lady Jane just fine.

She had been a Lady, a dominant and a sadist. She had lived and died by the phrase: Safe, Sane and Consentual. She was in charge and she brought the pain. Though she was skilled in many ways to inflict pain, most of all she had liked to tie people down, mostly men and a few women, with their express consent of course, and bring them to the very heights of ecstasy. She had even tried a strap-on a time or two, just to satisfy her curiosity about the other side of things.

She shunned the title of Mistress, since she had had no desire to own collared slaves and be able to do anything she wanted with them anytime she wanted, as long as it did not interfere with established hard boundaries and negotiated contract guidelines. Though she had owned a simple non-locking leather collar, it was used only as a temporary reminder that she was in charge, not as a contract of slavery. She preferred that she and her playmates do their scenes together and go their separate ways. Some she would never see again after the first time and others she would see almost every time she came to the club.

When she had finally walked away from "The Life," she had gained several rare skills. She was skilled in tie down, sensory deprivation play, strap-ons, flogger, paddle, cane and riding crop and she had been in the process of learning Florentine, caballero and bull whip. She was also well versed in the art of genital stimulation by hand and mouth, but Lee had yet to see the full extent of her skills in that department.

Her preparations over the previous few weeks had been to acquire all the equipment she would need to do a full tie down scene, most of which until tonight had resided in a duffle bag in the back of her closet, which included: a set of high quality non-locking double D loop leather wrist and ankle cuffs; a leg spacer (an 18" long narrow leather strap with a panic snap on each end); 12 ft. of brass clad non-welded chandelier chain (divided into four - 3 ft. sections), one double ended panic snap and eight single panic snaps (one on each end of the four sections of chain); wrist and ankle wraps (soft cloth cut into long 2" wide strips); leather chain covers and a blind fold (an elegant long narrow fringed black scarf, satin on one side and velvet on the other that she had found among her evening wear). This was a tie down system she had designed herself and used extensively during her stint as Lady Jane. It was much safer and easier to release than many of the rope systems she had seen used. It was all carefully laid out on the bed upstairs, ready for use.

As she drizzled olive oil and sprinkled herbs over the potatoes to prepare them for roasting, she smiled in remembrance of the satisfaction she felt in surveying her handiwork and at last being ready for this special night with Lee.

Promptly at 7:00 Lee rang the doorbell and breathless, Amanda opened the door to her handsome husband. His hands were full with a bottle of Amanda's favorite Beaujolais wine and a dozen red roses. He looked ravishing as he stood there relaxed in his dark suit, the brown and blue in his tie doing wonderful things to his eyes.

Amanda was cool and casual in a slim dark blue sleeveless dress that hugged her figure perfectly and fell to just below her knees along with strappy black leather sandals. "You look absolutely beautiful, Amanda," Lee said softly, as he handed her the flowers and leaned in for a brief but passionate kiss.

As Lee stepped into the entryway, he was immediately assailed by the delicious smells wafting from the kitchen, carried on a soft breeze coming from the open kitchen window.

"You don't look too bad yourself, Big Fella," Amanda breathed as she took the bottle of wine and set it along with the flowers on the hall table. Then, she took his tie and pulled him toward the landing.

"Mother and the boys are out of town for the rest of summer break, so you've got me for as long as you can stand me," she said, her lips mere inches from his.

Lee reached to touch her hair and smooth an errant strand behind her ear, before he said, humor snapping in his eyes, "Oh, I think I can put up with you at least that long. When you called, you said something about a surprise. Care to give me a clue?"

"Not on your life, but you will have to trust me," she said softly. "You do trust me, don't you?"

"Of course I do. I trust you with my life and I trust you with my heart for the rest of my life," he said and smiled.

"Do you trust me not to hurt you?" Amanda asked, trying again.

"Amanda, what's this all about?" Lee asked and took her hand in both of his.

"I want to try something a little different to spice up our sex life, but you're going to have to trust me," Amanda explained.

"Okay," Lee said, his voice colored with reluctance.

"I promise you, I know what I'm doing and you may get to see a side of me you've never seen before," Amanda said.

Lee was intrigued as Amanda pulled him by the tie toward the stairs. "What about dinner?"

"Chateau Briand gets more tender the longer you cook it, as long as it has liquid," Amanda said. "Besides, I have an itch and you're the only one I want to scratch it."

"You're still not going to give me a clue, are you?" Lee asked.

Lee cleared his throat nervously, as Amanda yanked on his tie more aggressively and got a decidedly predatory look in her eyes.

"Nope, you're just going to have to wait and find out," she said and tossed her magnificent mane of sable hair.

Lee was surprised and inordinately pleased when Amanda dragged him toward her and began to worry his lower lip with gentle nipping teeth. When he tried to kiss her back, Amanda growled an "Uh uh" from deep in her throat and continued to plunder his lips and mouth with teeth and tongue. _Who is this tigress and where has Amanda been hiding her all this time?_ Lee thought as she slung him by the tie toward the stairs and gave him a swat on the butt for good measure.

"Upstairs, now!" she barked.

Lee obeyed, not wanting to anger this fiery eyed temptress his wife had suddenly become. When he slowed on the stairs to look back at her, she swatted him on the butt again, a little harder and said, "Sometime this century, Big Fella."

"Yes ma'am," Lee said, as he reached the top of the stairs.

"For now you will address me as Milady. Is that understood?" Amanda barked.

"Yes, Milady," Lee said.

When they reached the bedroom door, Amanda said, "You will go into the bedroom and you will keep your back to the bed. You will strip naked as quickly as possible and you will kneel on the floor facing the window. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Milady," Lee said. He did as he was told and careful not to look toward the bed, he undressed in record time. When at last he was naked, he knelt facing the window as he had been instructed.

Amanda stepped in front of him and began a slow strip of her own. Gradually, she pulled down her dress to show a little bit of skin at a time. With excruciating slowness, her shoulders, breasts, stomach, hips, butt, thighs and finally her legs were revealed.

After what seemed like forever to Lee, Amanda's dress lay in a pool at her feet. All that remained were her white satin bra, matching thong panties and garter belt, and thigh high silk hosiery. If Lee had known what she'd had on under her dress, he would have been turned on much sooner. As it was, his member jumped to full attention and his breath quickened at the sight.

Amanda kicked her dress out of the way and flung her shoes one by one to land on top of it. She slowly undid her bra. A sensual grin played about her lips, as it glided off of her arms and she trailed it over his shoulders and head. Lee tried to nip at her breasts as they came very close to his face. Amanda tapped him on the cheek and curled a finger under his chin. Then she waved an admonitory finger at him and silently shook her head.

She tossed her bra in the general direction her dress and shoes had gone and with excruciating slowness unhooked her left thigh high and inched it down her leg. When it was off, she trailed it over Lee's shoulders and head and tossed it away. The other thigh high met the same fate and was tossed away as well. Her garter belt came next and made a slow inch down her legs. It trailed over Lee's shoulders and head and was tossed away like all the rest.

Last of all came her white satin thong. Lee noticed it had a gold jeweled heart on the string over her left pelvic bone. His breathing quickened and sweat broke out on his forehead and chest when at last Amanda's womanhood was revealed and Lee could see her pink flesh peeking from her sable pelt. _Oh yes,_ he thought. _The carpet does match the drapes._ He smiled as Amanda twirled the thong on her finger and sling shot it away to land among the rest of her clothes.

Completely nude now, Amanda bent over in front of him and curled a finger under his chin to get him to look up at her. "Get up and come with me," she purred like the tigress that Lee thought she had become.

"Yes, Milady," Lee answered and stood to follow her. Seconds later he stood next to the bed. He reached to touch a leather ankle cuff.

"You're going to tie me up and blindfold me?" Lee asked.

"Yes," said Amanda. "You will be safe and I will not hurt you. I promise."

Lee took several breaths and nodded resolutely. _After all,_ he thought. _I trust her with my life and my heart. Why should this be any different?_

"Okay, but you have to promise to tell me how you learned to do this," Lee said.

"Promise," Amanda said and stuck out her little finger for a pinky swear.

"What do you want me to do next?" Lee asked.

"Lie down in the middle of the bed and don't move unless I tell you to," Amanda said. "You will see everything I do to prepare you and don't be afraid to ask questions."

"Yes, Milady," Lee said and obeyed.

When Lee was lying down in the middle of the bed, Amanda wrapped a soft cloth around each wrist and each ankle, carefully checking each one for tightness.

"Why do you do that?" Lee asked.

"The hardcores don't use wraps and sometimes their wrists and ankles would get bruised and sometimes even raw and bloody," Amanda said.

"You've done this before?" Lee asked.

"Yes, many times," Amanda answered, her expression serious.

"How many times?" Lee asked.

Amanda didn't answer and began to buckle the wrist cuffs on. Lee was gratified to see that she was very careful about them not being so tight as to cut off circulation or so loose as to slide around or slip off.

She moved to his ankles and did the same checks. When she snapped a leather strap about a foot and a half long between his ankles, he asked, "What's that for?"

"That's to keep your legs from spreading too far apart and ripping muscles in your thighs and calves," Amanda said.

Lee winced at this. "Not just pulling... ripping?"

"Yes, ripping," Amanda said.

"Oh," Lee said and subsided into silence as Amanda began snapping on the chains and tightening them. She explained that they should be taut enough to limit movement, but not tight enough to cause pain or strain muscles. When she was done, she had Lee hold his wrist chains around the leather chain covers and snapped the double ended panic snap between his wrists.

"Before you ask, these chain covers are to keep you from rubbing your hands raw on the chains," Amanda said.

"Okay," Lee said.

"You ready for the blindfold?" Amanda asked.

"Gimme a second," Lee said and took several deep breaths. So far he had seen that Amanda had gone to great lengths to assure him that he would not get hurt and that she knew what she was doing.

"Okay," Lee said. "You can put it on now."

Amanda asked, "Do you want velvet or satin against your eyes?"

"Satin, Milady," Lee said.

Amanda turned the scarf so that the satin side rested against his eyes. She wrapped it around his head so that the tie would rest on the bridge of his nose and he would not be lying on a knot. She tucked in the fringes so they wouldn't distract him.

"Okay, Lee. You need to listen very carefully to what I am about to say," Amanda said.

"Yes, Milady," Lee answered.

"Your safe word is RED. Say it," Amanda said.

"RED, Milady," Lee answered.

"You will say your safe word if you get overwhelmed or frightened or you sustain an injury and want to be freed. When you say RED, everything will stop and you will be released from your bonds and your injuries, if any, will be treated. This tie down system is designed so that I can get you out in half a minute or less, if I need to," Amanda said.

"Yes, Milady," Lee answered.

"I will be checking periodically to see if you are in pain or if you feel overwhelmed or frightened. When I ask, 'Are you okay?' you will give an audible verbal response, like 'I'm okay.' or 'Yes, Milady.' If you are not okay, tell me what's wrong, like if you have a cramp or something is too tight or something like that," Amanda said.

"Yes, Milady," Lee answered.

"If I touch something I shouldn't, like a recent wound or a tender rib, you say YELLOW and I will stop what I am doing and move somewhere else. Say it," Amanda said.

"YELLOW, Milady," Lee answered.

"No matter where I am or what I am doing to your body, you will not touch me. Do you understand?" Amanda asked.

"Yes, Milady," Lee answered.

"That's it. Do you have any more questions?" Amanda asked.

"What's the blindfold for?" Lee asked.

"To enhance your pleasure. You can't see me, so you don't know what I'm going to do next. You can't anticipate it. All you have is what you can hear and feel," Amanda explained. "Shall we get started?"

"Yes, Milady," Lee said as he took a deep breath and let it out slow.

Amanda waited a few seconds until Lee settled and began by straddling his hips. She nibbled on his earlobes, then she nipped at the sensitive flesh where his neck met his shoulder.

Amanda left a suck bruise there, where no one would see it. They would know it was there and Lee would know that she had marked him as hers, as he had done so many times to her.

Lee moaned deep in his throat and moved his head back and forth a few times.

Then she came to his nipples. She worried one gently with her teeth, much as she had done with his lower lip earlier, which elicited a groan and an "Oh, Amanda." Then she moved to the other nipple and did the same thing.

"Oh, Amanda," Lee groaned again.

Slowly, Amanda moved down his body, kissing and nipping here, stroking there and stopping every so often to check on him.

"More than all right, Milady," he answered once, his words breathy and slurred.

She licked his belly just above his navel and blew cool air on it. Most men had hair there, but Lee's was curiously devoid of hair. As she licked and kissed along the right side of his ribs, Lee said, "YELLOW." Amanda saw healing bruises there and moved to the other side of his rib cage.

When she at last came to his member, she surprised him by licking the tip and taking it into her mouth. Every few upstrokes, she would lightly drag her teeth along the top of his member. Each time she did this, she felt Lee shudder as waves of ecstasy engulfed his senses.

"Tell me when you're about to come," Amanda said.

"I will, Milady," Lee gasped.

She continued her ministrations with hands and mouth until Lee began to struggle and buck under her.

Lee arched his neck as a realization struck him. _Is she actually using her feet to... God almighty._

"I'm gonna come," Lee groaned.

Amanda pulled her mouth off Lee's member with a loud pop and straddled him higher. She slid back until she felt the tip of his member at her entrance.

Lee could feel Amanda's soft flesh and the fuzziness of her pelt along the top of his member. Amanda impaled herself on him and he let out a loud groan and moaned, "Oh, my God. Oh, my God."

She moved slowly at first, but found her rhythm and increased the speed of her strokes by small increments. Every so often she would stop as though she thought she was going too fast and start again as slow as when she began.

Lee was almost out of his mind with the waves of pleasure inundating his senses. It would seem as though he would come within a hair's breadth of climaxing and Amanda would stop and start again, maddeningly slow.

After about the fifth time he felt her turn around so that her back faced him. His wrist chains thrummed as they tightened audibly, when he threw his arms forward. He wanted so much to run his hands down her back, but remembered her stern admonition not to touch her. She started licking and sucking on his toes and he yipped and struggled in his bonds, when she licked his instep and nipped at it with her teeth.

Then her rhythm sped up again until he heard her let out a long slow moan and growl deep in her throat like a contented tigress. He felt her close around him and moments later she turned around and began to move again, much faster than before.

It was only minutes later, Amanda felt Lee's climax rumble through him like thunder so close it makes the floor shake and he continued to spasm long after all his seed had been spilled. Amanda collapsed on his chest and waited for their breathing to return to normal.

When Lee was finally able to catch his breath, he moved his head back and forth several times and yanked on his chains. "Oh, my God, Amanda. Oh, my God," he gasped.

Amanda said nothing and carefully dismounted. She placed a gentle finger on Lee's lips. "Be still," she said softly.

She unlatched the snaps and undid his cuffs one by one. She unwrapped each wrist and ankle and carefully inspected each one for redness or swelling. Then she tested each joint for pain. Lee said nothing and did not flinch or wince. _Good, no injuries,_ she thought.

She told Lee to sit up and pulled him to a sitting position. When she undid his blindfold, Lee smiled at her and pulled her into a hug and tumbled with her back onto the bed, kissing her all the way.

"Oh, Amanda. This makes me wonder what other tricks you might have up your sleeve," Lee said when they came up for air.

"Oh, I think you'd be surprised," Amanda said.

"Try me," Lee said.

They lay together and were silent for a long while. Lee thought she had gone to sleep, when she finally cleared her throat. She drew designs on Lee's bare chest with a shaky forefinger for a few more moments before she spoke.

"You asked where I learned to do that. I don't know how you're going to take this, so I'll just say it. I was a dominatrix in a dungeon sex club in Charlottesville known as The Golden Cage when I was in college. For 2 1/2 years I was known as Lady Jane and I was sought after to ease people into 'The Life.' I was skilled in tie downs, sensory deprivation play, floggers, riding crops, canes, paddles and strap-ons. The tie down system we used tonight is one I designed. It is much safer and has a quicker release than some others I have seen," Amanda said and sighed.

"What about Joe? Does he know?" Lee asked.

"After I met Joe and we started getting serious, I stopped doing that, but from my exploits I had saved enough for a substantial down payment on this house, a down payment on my station wagon and a honeymoon in Myrtle Beach. He doesn't know anything about it and neither did my parents. They thought I worked at a bowling alley off campus," Amanda said. "You know, I've probably been with more men and more than a few women, than were in all of your four black books, but I never had sex with any of them and never dated any of them."

"Is it all right if I ask how much you charged?" Lee asked, not really expecting an answer.

"$100 for a half hour. 15% went to the club and the rest was pure profit," Amanda said. "They let me do what I was comfortable with and was good at. About 90% of that stuff still scares the holy heck out of me."

"What kind of things about that scares you?" Lee asked.

"Breath and choke play, just about everything about medical play, shock and electric play, rape scenes, mummification, and the list goes on and on. If you have a particular fetish, there's probably a type of play for it. I'm a dominant sadist, which means I'm in charge and I inflict pain. I didn't like to draw blood or harm my players unnecessarily. So I built a reputation for taking beginners and intermediates and being able to ease many new players into the life and harden the new masochists for much rougher play. I did know that some hardcore masochists would refuse to say their safe word until their backs were little more than raw meat. These I would refer to the more experienced and advanced floggers, those that weren't finicky about drawing blood or could handle whipping a player until he said his safe word or broke. When I quit I was learning Florentine, caballero and bull whip."

"What's Florentine?" Lee asked.

"It's a form of flogging using two lightweight floggers instead of one heavy flogger that you switch from one hand to the other," Amanda said and smiled. "I used to practice with my cheerleading pompoms. The handles were about the same, but they were too light. Another 'Lady' at the club let me borrow her bowling pins with 2 pound lead cores. It was a simple rhythmic figure eight motion. The pins were heavy, heavier than my single flogger. It hurt at first and made my arms sore, but it built muscle mass and endurance. Until that time I never thought of flogging or caballero as an art form, but it is. It's kind of like a dance. And I learned that it takes more skill than I possessed to bull whip someone and not draw blood. Caballero is a braided whip much like a bullwhip, only much shorter and lighter, so you have much more control and it is much like Florentine, except you use a short whip in each hand instead of a flogger."

For a moment Amanda focused on Lee. "Enough about me. What about you? What did you think?"

Lee took a deep breath and smiled, as he touched Amanda's face. "Wow. That wasn't anything like what I thought it would be. My God, Amanda. The orgasm, I've never experienced anything like that before in my life. I'm still seeing spots before my eyes," Lee said.

Amanda laid her hand on Lee's chest, a sign that what she was about to say was important. "You mean you're not shocked or disgusted?"

"No, Amanda. I trust you and I love you for you, all of you. I probably wouldn't want to be flogged, but I might want to try this again... sometime," Lee said.

Amanda sighed and shrugged as though a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. "Would you like to take a shower with me and after we get dressed we can have dinner? The Chateau Briand should be pretty tender by now," she said and glanced at the clock on the night stand.

"Sounds like a plan," said Lee as he kissed her on the nose and scrambled from the bed. "Last one in the shower has to scrub the other first."

"Oh, Lee," she grumbled good naturedly, the tigress gone as quickly as she had appeared and threw a wrist wrap at him, as he peeked at her from the safety of the bathroom doorway.

When Amanda got into the shower, Lee was already in there and laughed as he handed her a washcloth soaped and ready for her to use. Amanda just smiled and began to scrub his back, shoulders and neck in slow gentle circles. As she did this, she thought, _That turned out better than I thought it would... and he wants to try it again... sometime._

She sighed heavily as she bent more diligently to her task and said very softly, "You aren't afraid of me or repulsed by what I've done. You love me for me, all of me."

The wet wash cloth slapped against Amanda's bare thigh as she swung her arms down and then crossed them over her bare breasts. She was feeling defensive and she didn't know why, as she shook her head and tears came to her eyes.

Lee curled a finger under her chin to get her to look at him. "Why should I be afraid or repulsed?" he asked. "Yes, I love you and I know from long experience that you wouldn't hurt me. This experience has shown me plenty about who you are as a person and who you were as a dominatrix. Even in the dark and sometimes scary world of a dungeon sex club, in your own way you were still kind, gentle, caring and nurturing. Now, what's so tough to understand about that?"

Amanda smiled through her tears and bent to finish washing Lee's chest.

"Spicing up our sex life can really work up an appetite," Lee said and planted a gentle kiss on Amanda's still dry forehead. "Let's finish up in here and go eat some of that Chateau Briand you fixed for dinner. My mouth is watering just thinking about it."

Amanda said, "I also have Italian herb roasted potatoes, lemon pepper steamed asparagus, salad and dinner rolls with butter. The wine you brought should complement the Chateau Briand quite nicely."

Lee smiled as he playfully rubbed his now well soaped chest against hers and for a few moments they made a game of slathering each other with soap without using their hands.

Later as they dressed, Lee hurriedly slipped his arm into the sleeve of his shirt, before he suddenly grabbed her face with both of his hands and kissed her with passion and ardor. "Oh, Amanda. I love every little thing about you and every little thing you do for me. I'm sorry haven't told you that enough," he said breathlessly, when they came up for air. Amanda had no answer for this as she continued to dress.

Moments later Lee licked his lips and watched Amanda as she slipped her hosiery back on and then shimmied the dress over her head and down over her satin clad breasts. The image of her slowly pulling her dress down to reveal her skin inch by inch and the uncharacteristically predatory look in her eyes was one that would stay with him for a long time to come.

Amanda slipped on her sandals and she grabbed Lee's tie and released it to let it flow over her shoulder as she breezed by on the way out the bedroom door. Her dark eyes held humor when she stopped in the doorway and a silent beckoning finger drew him with her to the kitchen.

On her way down the stairs Amanda grabbed the wine and the flowers from the table in the entryway and brought them with her to the kitchen. She had just put the potatoes in the oven and set the asparagus to steam, when Lee finally appeared in the kitchen. She glanced up from arranging the roses in a vase and said, "I'll leave the wine to you," she said, as she gestured to the bottle on the kitchen island.

While Lee opened the wine and poured two glasses, Amanda set a basket of dinner rolls and a dish of butter and a butter knife on the breakfast bar.

Amanda stopped what she was doing and asked, "Or would you rather eat in the dining room? It seems like my Chateau Briand deserves more formal surroundings than my breakfast bar."

"Whatever you think is best," he said, as he handed her a glass of wine and caressed her face before he planted a gentle kiss on her lips.

"The dining room it is," she said and began to ferry the things on the breakfast bar to the dining table. With Lee's help the roses, the rolls and butter, two candles and the salt and pepper made their way to the table. Another trip brought plates, linen napkins, silverware and goblets filled with water.

Amanda finally retrieved the Chateau Briand from the oven and it was so tender it fell apart as she slid it onto a platter and ladled juices over it. She checked the asparagus and it was done. She transferred it to a plate and tossed it in melted butter. Then she arranged the spears appealingly on the plate, squeezed a lemon over it and sprinkled it with fresh ground black pepper. Upon further inspection the potatoes would take a little longer.

Lee went to the refrigerator to retrieve the salad and the salad dressing and was surprised to find a chocolate concoction on the middle shelf. "Hey, Amanda. You didn't say anything about dessert. What is this chocolate thing in here?"

Amanda was just returning from the dining room and glanced up as she came through the kitchen doorway. She curled a finger under Lee's chin and kissed him lightly on the lips, as she moved around him. "Oh, we've already had dessert. This is just an extra sweet treat for my sweetheart, since he was such a good sport. It's a Death by Chocolate Mousse Triffle."

Lee had brought the triffle from the refrigerator and set it on the kitchen island to get a closer look at this confectionery marvel. The bowl was filled to the brim with chocolate cake layered with chocolate mousse. It was topped with whipped cream drizzled with chocolate fudge and chocolate shavings all around the edges and a maraschino cherry to top it off.

He caught a bit of whipped cream as it threatened to fall over the edge of the bowl and plop on the counter. When he removed his finger from his mouth, he said, "It looks almost too good to eat."

"I hope you don't mind being a guinea pig. I wanted to perfect the recipe before I made one for Francine for her birthday," Amanda said as she checked the roasted potatoes and removed them from the oven.

Lee returned the triffle to the refrigerator before took the salad and dressing to the table and had just returned when Amanda put the potatoes in a bowl. Lee handed Amanda her glass of wine and took the bowl of potatoes. "Shall we?" he said and gestured toward the dining room.

Lee seated Amanda and took his own seat next to her. Amanda laid a staying hand on his arm as he began to serve them both. Lee smiling, put his hand on top of hers and said, "You've done so much tonight. Let me do this."

Amanda looked for a moment at the candles and the flowers and nodded her assent.

As they ate Lee became aware that Amanda observed him in an alert concentrated way. Something was definitely on her mind, but he would have to be patient and wait her out. Though he knew her to be quite the chatterbox at times, she could be very reticent when she wanted to be. This seemed to be one of those times.

He turned this over and over in his mind as he forked bite after delicious bite of Chateau Briand into his mouth.

Amanda glanced up from her own reverie as Lee said, "I have eaten in the best restaurants in the world and I have never had Chateau Briand as good as this."

Amanda beamed at his compliment, but still said nothing.

Lee refilled her glass with wine, thinking perhaps alcohol would relax her and loosen her tongue. Still Amanda remained silent.

When at last they finished dinner, Lee began to clear the table. Again, wordlessly Amanda put a staying hand on his arm. Lee shook his head and said, "Let the husband do the clearing for change."

Lee cleared the table and paused to let his mouth water over the triffle, as he put the food away and turned on the coffee pot. When he was done, he returned to the dining room. Amanda still sat at the table, her chin resting on her hand, deep in thought.

He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him. "Come on. Let's take our wine and sit in the den and maybe then you'll tell me what's on your mind," Lee said.

"Okay," she acquiesced and grabbed her glass of wine to follow him.

When they were settled on the sofa, Lee took Amanda's hand and brought it to his lips. He nibbled the knuckles for a few moments before he came to the point. "Come on, Amanda. I can see it in your eyes, the way you look at me. Is something troubling you, maybe something I did?"

Amanda looked up from her quiet scrutiny of Lee's oral attention to her hand and growled deep in her throat, as she pulled her hand away. This wasn't the contented tigress growl he had heard earlier; this growl was edged with frustration and discontent.

She blew out a long breath and said, "I want the mystery marriage to end, because I'm sick to death of waking up alone. I want to start trying for another baby, because I want to give you a child of your own, a child that we can love and raise together." It had all tumbled out in one breath and Lee stared at her, nonplussed for just a moment before he spoke. He thought that he had committed some terrible faux pas that had gotten her dander up. That it would be about the mystery marriage had not occurred to him.

"We knew going in that it wasn't going to be easy, but you're right. I hate going weeks without being able to be with you," Lee said. "Its getting pretty frustrating to reach out to touch you and find nothing but empty air and rumpled blankets. And acting like near strangers at work just chaps my hide."

He reached to touch her hair, the future shining in his eyes. "And I would love to have a baby with you."

"It's terrible that we have to wait for mother and the boys to go out of town or I have to lie to her to get any time alone with you. No more waiting. No more lying. I'm done with that," Amanda said.

"If you think it's time to let the cat out of the bag..." Lee said.

"Yes... I do. Past time actually," Amanda said. "When Mother and the boys return from visiting Uncle Herman, if that's all right with you."

"Well, that will give us a few weeks to get all our ducks in a row before they get back," Lee said.

"So... you're okay with bringing our marriage out in the open?" Amanda asked.

Lee grabbed her hand and began nibbling on her knuckles again, before he said, "If it means I get to wake up next to my beautiful wife every morning, I'll do just about anything." Every few words were punctuated with a nip or two on her knuckles.

Amanda smiled and drew him to her for a long kiss, reveling in the fact that his lips and tongue tasted of wine. When they at last parted to catch their breath, Amanda saw in Lee's eyes that they were on the same page.

"When they get back, I'll show off my engagement ring. I can just see Mother now, nodding knowingly about why I wanted to stay home," Amanda said and removed the chain from around her neck that held her treasured diamond heart pendant and her wedding rings.

"You want to do this now?" Lee asked.

"Yes, and I want a real proposal. We're not in danger of dying at the moment, so make it good, Big Fella," Amanda said, caressing his cheek with a curled finger.

He carefully removed the engagement ring from the necklace and gave what remained back to her to put around her neck once again. He smiled as he reached to take a hearty swallow from his wine glass and place it back on the coffee table with exaggerated care.

Amanda looked on, her smile nervous, as Lee sank to one knee beside the sofa and took her hand in his.

Lee took a deep breath and said, "We've lived through so much since you came to work for the Agency. I've seen how strong and brave and resourceful you can be. Tonight I saw something more of you; I saw how tough you can be, but at the same time I also saw how kind and gentle you can be. I've loved you much longer than I let on and I realized a long time ago that you are the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with; you are the woman I want have children with. So, Amanda... Will you marry me and make me the happiest man in the world?"

"Oh, Lee. Yes, I'll marry you," Amanda said and continued to stroke his cheek.

Amanda's heart turned over in her chest as Lee slid the ring onto her finger and the dimpled grin that spread over Lee's face was sublime.


End file.
